A-BAY-ZING WIN! Though Jason Bay’s season did not go all that well, he had one of his best moments as a Met when he delivered an RBI-single in the 10th inning to help the Amazin’s prevent a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees.Paul J. Bereswill

For a significant stretch of the 2011 schedule, the Mets were actually a decent team. From April 21 to July 29 — more than half the schedule — they were 50-38 and emerged as a darkhorse in the NL wild-card race.

The season disintegrated in August, as injuries and lack of pitching depth finally caught up with the Mets. The bullpen in particular was a disaster, following Francisco Rodriguez’s trade to the Brewers.

Given the Braves’ September swoon, it turns out the wild-card race still was wide open as the Mets were beginning to fold. It was a missed opportunity.

“One of the disappointments for me,” general manager Sandy Alderson said yesterday, “is we started poorly and ended poorly.”

In the end, it meant 77-85 and a third straight fourth-place finish. Those are the numbers that will be placed on the permanent record — not the 50-38 mark from April 21 to July 29.

A final look at 2011 for the Mets:

MVP

Jose Reyes had two stints on the disabled list with hamstring injuries, but resurrected his career after two straight forgettable seasons.

He won the batting title

with a .337 average, stole

39 bases and played Gold Glove caliber defense.

Now the Mets have to balance the risk/reward in trying to re-sign Reyes. He is 28 years old with a history of hamstring problems, making it seem unlikely the Mets would be willing to go beyond five years in their next contract offer. But there could be a team desperate enough to go six or seven years with Reyes, testing the resolve of Alderson and ownership.

Honorable mention: Carlos Beltran

LVP

Jason Bay has two years remaining to redeem himself — or further bolster his position as the worst free-agent signing in Mets history. The scary part for the Mets is Bay’s contract contains a fifth-year vesting option based on plate appearances, meaning the Mets could still be on the hook for

$49 million.

Maybe a Citi Field with shortened fences can make a difference for

Bay, who hit .245 with

12 homers and 57 RBIs this season. That made it 18 homers for Bay in his two seasons with the Mets after hitting 36 in his walk year in Boston.

Bay had a 2-3 week stretch before the All-Star break in which he finally seemed to have his problems solved, but then he regressed and faded into a lost summer.

Honorable mention: Mike Pelfrey

Most improved

Defensively, Ruben Tejada has been major-league ready for more than a year. The question always has been can he hit enough? The Mets saw enough offensively from the 21-year-old shortstop over the final two months of the season to believe they have an in-house replacement should Reyes bolt.

The ideal scenario for the Mets would be a middle infield next season of Reyes and Tejada, with the latter shifting to second base full-time, giving the team a viable option off the bench with Justin Turner. But if Reyes departs, at least the cupboard isn’t bare at shortstop.

Honorable mention: Lucas Duda

mpuma@nypost.com

Game of the year: Mets 3, Yankees 2 (July 3)

Bay, in the middle of his hot streak, delivered an RBI single in the 10th inning to prevent the Mets from getting swept three games in the Subway Series at Citi Field. The Mets had tied the game an inning earlier against Mariano Rivera.

It was still early enough in the season that anything still seemed possible for the .500 Mets, who were surprisingly alive in the wild-card race after a horrendous stretch to begin the season. The positive vibe would last until late-July, when the reality began to set in that the Mets didn’t have enough weapons to make a run.

Honorable mention: Mets 5, Giants 2 (July 8) —

Scott Hairston homers in ninth against Brian Wilson for the lead.

5 Key stats

.264 The Mets’ batting average for the season, which ranked sixth in the majors and second in the NL

(Cardinals finished first).

19 The number of errors David Wright made in 101 starts at third base

109 The number of time left fielder Jason Bay struck out in 444 ar-bats

102 Total number of runs allowed by Mike Pelfrey who finished the season 7-13 with a 4.74 ERA

16 The number of triples by Jose Reyes, who finished tied for the league lead with the Phillies’ Shane Victorino